GMAT Math : Algebra

Study concepts, example questions & explanations for GMAT Math

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Example Questions

Example Question #62 : Functions/Series

What is the sum of the even terms from 2 to 60?

Possible Answers:

Correct answer:

Explanation:

We should notice that since we have a sequence of even numbers, we can factor  out, so we can rewrite it as :

We can calculate the summation of all numbers from 1 to  with the formula ; so, we simply have to plug in 30 for  and multiply this formula by two:

Example Question #211 : Algebra

What is the sum of the sequence of all terms from 120 to 160 inclusive? 

Possible Answers:

Correct answer:

Explanation:

The formula for the summation of consecutive terms is  , which gives the sum of all terms from 0 to . We can apply the formula to get the summation of all consecutive terms from 1 to 160. To figure out the summation starting from 120, we simply have to subtract the summation of all terms from 1 to 119. (We don't want to include 120 since we want it in our summation.)

Example Question #1291 : Problem Solving Questions

What is the sum of all odd numbers from 0 to 59 inclusive? 

Possible Answers:

Correct answer:

Explanation:

We can manipulate summations to make them easier to work with. Here, we are asked for the sum of odd terms from 1 to 59. We can calculate this by subtracting the summation of the even terms from the summation of all numbers from 1 to 59, using the formula  to sum all terms from 1 to .

 

In other words, we have to calculate , since the even numbers are given by  or .

We obtain the final answer 900.

Example Question #212 : Algebra

Define  . Which of the following would be a valid alternative way of expressing the definition of ?

Possible Answers:

Correct answer:

Explanation:

By definition:

If , then  ,and subsequently, 

If , then  ,and subsequently, 

Example Question #73 : Understanding Functions

Piecewise

Let  be the piecewise-defined function graphed above. Define the function .

Evaluate .

Possible Answers:

Correct answer:

Explanation:

As seen in the diagram below, the graph of  includes the point .

Piecewise 1

Therefore, , and

.

, so 

.

Therefore, , the correct choice.

Example Question #74 : Understanding Functions

Piecewise

Let  be the piecewise-defined function graphed above. Define the function .

Evaluate .

Possible Answers:

Correct answer:

Explanation:

, so

, so

As seen in the diagram below, the graph of  includes the point .

Piecewise 1

Therefore, , and , the correct choice.

Example Question #75 : Understanding Functions

Piecewise

Let  be the piecewise-defined function graphed above. Define function .

Evaluate .

Possible Answers:

4 is not in the domain of 

Correct answer:

Explanation:

 such that .As seen in the diagram below, the graph of  includes the point , so .

Piecewise 1

, so

, the correct choice.

Example Question #76 : Understanding Functions

Piecewise

Let  be the piecewise-defined function graphed above. Define function .

Evaluate .

Possible Answers:

4 is not in the domain of .

Correct answer:

4 is not in the domain of .

Explanation:

, so

Therefore, 

, which is equal to  such that .

However, the range of the function , as can be seen from the diagram, is  - 5 lies outside the range of , and, consequently, outside the domain of . Therefore, the expression  is undefined, and, equivalently, 4 is not in the domain of .

Example Question #77 : Understanding Functions

Piecewise

Let  be the piecewise-defined function graphed above. Define a function .

Evaluate .

Possible Answers:

6 is not in the domain of .

Correct answer:

Explanation:

From the diagram below, it can be seen that the point  is on the graph of 

Therefore, , and

 if , so, since

,

and 

Therefore, .

Example Question #78 : Understanding Functions

Piecewise

Let  be the piecewise-defined function graphed above. Define a function .

Evaluate 

Possible Answers:

.

Correct answer:

.

Explanation:

 

 if , so, since

Therefore, , and 

As can be seen from the diagram, however, the domain of  is . 10 is not in the domain of . Therefore,  is not in the domain of .

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